This blog was created for Niles Animal Hospital & Bird Medical Center by Peter S. Sakas DVM in an effort to provide information & discussion about animal related issues. It may move into some eccentric directions on occasion if the mood strikes me as I get more comfortable in this form of communication. I am open to suggestions & comments about the blog. Also view our hospital website www.nilesanimalhospital.com or Facebook page Niles Animal Hospital and Bird Medical Center.

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Watch out for leptospirosis

From the AVMA Pet Health SmartBrief.

Watch out for leptospirosis

BY DENISE M. BARAN-UNLAND
Correspondent

Does Star have a vomiting problem?

Sue Kiefer of Shorewood was out of town when her
daughter telephoned with this question, concerned that Kiefer’s
9-year-old, seemingly healthy Boston terrier hadn’t retained food over
the last 24 hours.

Leptospirosis is an often-fatal contagious
bacterial infection transmitted by livestock and wildlife, such as
raccoons, opossums, skunks and rats. Stopinski said a 2011 study
suggested 60 percent of raccoons are infected. Dogs acquire
leptospirosis through contact with the urine of these creatures.

This happens when dogs drink from streams,
retention ponds or any stagnant water where infected wildlife has
urinated, Stopinski said. Even if the dog walks through contaminated
water, the bacteria can enter through a cut on the paw or through the
mouth, if the dog licks off the water.

“We’re always very careful handling animals if we suspect they have leptospirosis,” Stopinski said.

Cats, Stopinski said, have a natural resistance to
leptospirosis but dogs can pass leptospirosis to their human owners, if
those owners have come into contact with the dog’s urine. Leptospirosis,
Stopinski said, is also becoming more common in humans. About 200 new
cases are diagnosed each year.

“If you’ve handled the dog and had a cut on your
hand or touched the dog and then put something in your mouth, you can
get it that way,” Stopinski said. “It’s just as dangerous to humans as
it is to dogs.”

Initial symptoms — fever, loss of appetite,
diarrhea and vomiting — may take a few days to manifest and are easily
attributed to other causes, Stopinski said. Within a few days, the dog
will become lethargic; kidney and liver failure quickly follow, even
with treatment.

If leptospirosis is caught early enough — and the
affected dog lives — the kidneys and liver may recover but the odds that
damage is permanent are high, Stopinski said. Reported cases, she said,
have increased over the past 10 years in suburban areas.

“We’re building more houses and taking away more of
the wildlife environment,” Stopinski said. “Dogs now have greater
contact with wildlife so they’re getting exposed more often.”

Fifteen years ago, veterinarians customarily
vaccinated dogs against leptospirosis until the adverse reactions —
vomiting, diarrhea, and breaking out in hives — were occurring
frequently, causing more harm than good, Stopinski said.

Today’s leptospirosis vaccine has better coverage —
the old vaccine only protected against two strains — with fewer
negative reactions, Stopinski said. Puppies usually receive two
injections, starting when they are 12 weeks old, and given two to four
weeks apart.

Older dogs, Stopinski said, are evaluated for the
vaccine on a case-by-case basis, depending on what health conditions are
present, if they’ve reacted badly to other vaccines and if they are
exposed to wildlife.

“If the dog never goes outside, there is no reason to vaccinate,” Stopinski said.

Treatment for leptospirosis is often aggressive,
especially if the liver and kidneys have failed. This includes
hospitalization, antibiotics and intravenous fluids. Despite these
measures, Kiefer said Star continued to decline.

When the pain become unmanageable, Kiefer made the heartbreaking decision to euthanize.

“I went home and told all my neighbors to get
vaccines for their dogs,” Kiefer said. “This totally broke my heart. I
don’t want anyone else going through it.”